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When is the right time to go to preK?

My 32 months daughter never been in daycare since birth. She only speaks Vietnamese at home, and picks up couple English words from TV. I'm thinking of getting her into preK to to prepare for her Kindergarten. When is the right time for her? and what kind of information do I need in terms of picking school? How much is the fee/month?... Any suggesstions or responses would be greatly appreciated! Katie

i think pre-kwould be great for your daughter. Depending on her birthday, 3 is a great age to start as long as she is potty-trained. Going part-time at first will get her used to school, kids, and speaking english. The schools start at around $250 a week and rise steeply from there. However a lot of schools charge according to income. Visit lots of schools and keep asking around. good luck!43083

Hi Katieyeh,Welcome to the Community!A few of us are also beginning to think about preschools and have started a comprehensive list of questions to ask prospective schools and what to look for. Here's a link to that discussion-- and feel free to post some of you own findings!http://community.greatschools.net/groups/11534/discussion/220231

Your daughter sounds like she is at a great age to start preschool and I think Wright1 gave you some good advice about starting her out with one or two half days a week and moving up from there.

Also, check out our preschool microsite for more resources: http://www.greatschools.net/preschool/43084

I think it sounds like you and your daughter are ready. It is very important that you factor your comfort level into your decision making process. Remember that your child's excitement, motivation and first impressions will rely heavily on your cues as well. My only other suggestion, especially if you are looking for your daughter's language experience to grow, is to look into Montessori-style preschools. The montessori philosophy is an experience-based, child driven curriculum-if done right, and can offer your child the opportunity to learn without a language barrier. Considering that most information on English as a second language suggests that your child is still learning her primary language first, Vietnamese, you want to foster that. Only after she has mastered her primary language can she learn-successfully- English. Most preschools, especially part-time, will be more concerned with getting her to speak English, instead of the learning process. Good Luck!43085

My son is 3 years old and has started pre-k this year. He learns letters and numbers and even receives therapy there. I've never heard of a prek charging to go there. 250 a week is expensive. My son is not even potty trained yet. They go to the bathroom 4 times a day. The school hours are M-F 8:30 - 3:00. He loves it and the transition was easy since he attended lighthouse prior to attending public school. Lighthouse learning center takes kids from 14 months to 5 years. It is a great school. Unfortunately, because we weren't in clay county my son didn't have an IEP and couldn't receive therapy services there.43086

I strongly encourage it.I think the more you get to know what you are doing and when and who you know? Will help you make the transition easier.My daugher is 5yrs old and she was on waiting list just to begin school.I say go for it or teach her half the time Like I did with my own.43087

I think it sound like you both are ready for pre-school. Remember because she only speaks Vietnamese it might be a harder adjustment for her. My advise would be drop her off and leave. My sister use to hang around to ease he daughter but she got worse and worse it may seem mean to walk out but sometimes it's the best thing to do.43088

MY son was three when I first put him in pre-k it turn out that he cried and was bored with the work he was doing because he was taught at home his abc how to count from 1-50 his address , number and so on so I took him out of pre k and but him into karate I think you need to let your daughter go because it will be hard on her when she not able to keep up and understand the language and most of all I think you need to start at home43089

I agree with everyone here. I think if you're both ready....then go for it! It might be easier then you think....in my sons class, a Russian girl started about a month into the school year and she's doing very well. She has picked up English very well. I think sending your daughter sooner rather then later is the best thing because of the whole language barrier....so by the time she starts Kindergarten, she'll be much more ready. Good luck!43090

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